Fresh Out The Gate and Ready to Run? For PSU and its Young Backs, There’s No Time To Wait
This is the part where I’m supposed to tell you to be patient with Penn State’s dynamic young running backs, that true freshmen need to cook slowly, more like a brisket than a burger, and that James Franklin, not unlike many coaches, has shown a consistent tendency to be more comfortable with veterans than upstart rookies.
In other words, tell you to get excited about Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, but not too excited.
Well, considering the way Penn State’s running game looked last season, you should take any reasons to be excited you can get.
We all know the numbers were bad (118th of 130 FBS teams in rushing yards per game), the optics were bad (how many times did the Nittany Lions turn a 2nd-and-feet into a punt or turnover on downs?) and the harmony was bad (when the line blocked, the backs didn’t hit the holes hard; when they ran with purpose, the blocking broke down). But when you go back and look at what frequently cost the Nittany Lions in their six losses last season, it was the effect the running game—or lack of running game—had on the rest of the team that made for so many disappointing Saturday evenings.
The days of the best rushing offenses belonging to the best teams, at basically every level of the game, are largely behind us. If you can’t move the ball through the air at least semi-competently, you’re not going to be able to score on any defense with a pulse. But the best teams and the best offenses, whether they have a Heisman candidate at quarterback or a stable of 6-4 wide receivers who can run 4.3s, are able to run the ball when they want to, or when they need to.
Penn State couldn’t do it in either instance last season. Sure, there were a few big runs here and there, but at no point did you look up and realize the Lions had been grinding out a sustained drive primarily on the ground. And during the crucial moments late in the fourth quarter, when getting a few first downs, never mind another score, could have meant the difference between a win and a loss, the Lions had to rely on Sean Clifford and Jahan Dotson to make a play to keep the chains moving.
Yes, we can put blame on Ta’Quan Roberson, and the coaches for not adequately preparing him, for the Iowa loss, but if the Nittany Lions had any sort of a competent running game, they would not have needed to put so much pressure on their young backup to hold a two-touchdown lead. Yes, if the rushing attack had a play to reliably pick up 2 yards, the Illinois debacle might have mercifully been over before the ninth overtime. But if Penn State had been able to run for more than 2.1 yards per carry against a mediocre defense, the game might have not even made it to the first OT.
The Nittany Lions’ defense was excellent last season, particularly when you consider how often its offense left it in tricky spots. But the few times it wore down tended to be late in games, when it had been on the field for too long (Penn State was last in the Big Ten in time of possession last season), and big plays like the game-winning Erick All touchdown in the Michigan game were the result. The Nittany Lions’ special teams didn’t have so many failed designed fakes last season because those groups failed to execute but because Franklin, rightly, didn’t trust his running game enough to give the offense more chances to convert fourth-and-shorts.
And so, as we approach the 2022 opener and a Purdue team that finished 12th in the conference in rushing defense in 2021, that leaves Singleton, Allen, Keyvone Lee, Devyn Ford, the offensive line, Mike Yurcich, Phil Trautwein and Franklin in both an enviable and unenviable spot. On the one hand, it’s a chance for a fresh start, for the young backs and a mostly new line to come roaring out of the gate and establish a rushing attack that will bring balance to the offense and, by extension, the entire team.
On the other, the pressure to run the ball more effectively—hell, with any sort of effectiveness—has been building the entire year. Will Yurcich and Franklin try to overcompensate, and call too many runs? Will they turn away from the run too quickly if it isn’t working, as they so often did last year? Will the tension and the frustration spill over and affect the rhythm of the playcalling, the confidence of the players, the mood of the crowd? These are nervy questions, and it’s just as easy to envision continued struggles as it is significant improvement.
That’s why the offense should be ready and willing to try anything and everything to find a spark that will finally light the run game. Maybe that means more carries for Singleton than he might have received in a normal rookie season. Maybe that means calling the same run play six times in a row against an inferior defense early in the year to build confidence for tougher opponents. As we saw in 2016, sometimes it only takes a quarter or a slight scheme adjustment for an offense to transform. The 2022 Nittany Lions find themselves in need of such a transformation before they’ve even played a snap. It doesn’t make sense for fans to be patient with the latest additions to the backfield when the offense itself can’t afford to be.
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